Infidelity: How to deal with infidelity

Forgive and forget

However, just how forgiving they’re likely to be could well depend on their gender, with more than a quarter of men surveyed by Illicit Encounters saying they’d be willing to turn the other cheek.

The number of women by comparison, was one in five. “The betrayal factor doesn't seem to resonate with men as much as it does with women,” suggests Freeman-Jones.

“Since men are more able to compartmentalize love and sex, they don't necessarily see their partner sleeping with someone else as an emotional betrayal in the same way women do.” However, whilst men might be able to separate sex from love, it would be naive to expect a man to simply take sexual infidelity on the chin.

“Men may view being cheated on as an attack on their manhood,” argues Karen Dickinson, “and find it harder to move past this hurdle.” After all, one should ever underestimate the sensitivity of the male ego…